There is a great story in the Bible that we all may have heard of but may have overlooked…

Matthew 16:13-20 (NIV)

13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

Many people know who God is…but they don’t know who they are. Jesus asked Peter, “Who do you think I am? And Peter correctly replied. But then Jesus told Peter who he was. He gave Peter an identity.

• Do you know who you are in Christ?
• Have you been living from your identity?
• Are you secure in your self?

Jesus knew it was just as important for Peter to know who Peter was as it was for Peter to know who Jesus was. You see, we first must come to truly know Christ…but then we have to truly know ourselves. The more you know yourself, the more you can grow yourself. If you are going to become everything God wants you to be, you have to know what makes you…you.

I see people all the time that have such a poor self-image of themselves. They are limiting their destiny because they see themselves as trash rather than royalty. But we must understand, we are not trash, we are a child of God, called to be seated in heavenly places.

Romans 8:17 (NIV)

Now if we are children, then we are heirs–heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Co-hiers with Christ doesn’t sound like trash to me, it sounds like royalty. If you don’t understand your God-given identity you will never understand your potential. Stop saying to yourself that you are worthless, stupid, weak, limited, and anything else that separates you from your position with Christ. If we can change the way we see ourselves we can change the world around us. To walk in your identity as a co-heir with Christ is not a result of being perfect, but rather a result of being perfected. We are a work in process, being perfected until the day of completion. It’s not that we are sinless, but that we are trying to sin less to honor God. Embrace who you are and allow God to build His Kingdom through you.